Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
The recent use of GIS is likely to dramatically change the way in which
atmospheric pollution is managed. This is especially the case for the production and
distribution of scientific documents that identify areas in which there are health
problems. The forecast of a particular event which is due to take place, once people
are aware of it and as soon as it has been advertised, can only modify the event in
question [DUP 02]. As soon as it is developed, the distribution of such scientific
documents can be interpreted in two ways by two different groups of people; first by
the people who developed the document, and second, by the readers of the
document. For the people who created the document, the document is seen as being
perfect and the data introduced in the document are gathered by recording
measurements and creating models that are displayed in graphs, but only after the
data have been rigorously analyzed. As far as the readers are concerned, the
document is seen as a finished product, an image whose scientific supports have
been removed [DAG 03]. The model used in the end is a simplification of what
really occurs. These hypotheses should be used as a grid used to analyze and
evaluate the finished documents. The characteristics of these maps and the
peremptory characteristics of the color areas on the map make it possible to forget
about slight differences in shading when the results are being interpreted. However,
a large part of the influence that these maps comes from the fact that they are used
in a branch of science that is seen as being neutral, conforming to social demands,
yet at the same time it also refuses to conform to these demands [HAR 95].
6.4.2.3.
The map, a communication tool or ambiguity created by the idea of
monitoring?
Analyzing the maps which are created [BOU 02] shows the ambiguity between
the maps that are created (and which provide information on pollution levels in a
particular area), and the actual scientific meaning of the pollution levels that are
recorded and which need to be taken into consideration, as well as the effect this
information will have on the general public when it is made available to them. The
quality of the maps which are produced or made available on the internet should not
be affected by the quality of color printing or by the care and effort that has gone
into creating the graphics. However, the maps created are no longer focused on
reliability, nor are they focused on the precautions that must to be taken as far as
their own interpretation is concerned. The boundaries that exist between different
color areas on the maps are smooth, because in reality the transition between two
different levels of pollution is not differentiated by a sudden change in the amount
of pollution present. This smoothing is due to a political precaution which avoids
seeing the exact location of where people live.
The fact that certain maps are published also shows the limits associated with the
transparency of the information found in the maps. The results produced by models
that measure the impact that the plume produced by different factories has on the
ground can only be communicated to the inhabitants of the area if the results are
accompanied with commentary on the different hypotheses that have been
developed regarding the negative effects of pollution on human health. In addition,
an evaluation of the potential risks incurred also needs to be published and then
